Does Frugal Living Ever Change in Retirement?

[brucethebroker]

I've been on the city-data site a lot looking at various mid-Florida living options. There was one post that really drove things home for me. It was a guy who, at 70, somehow got a 30 year mortgage to buy a mobile home, in order to pay mortgage "rent" rather than take all the purchase price out from his investments as a lump sum. No heirs. "Let them come after me at 90 for those last payments" he quipped.

I took out our last mortgage at age 62. I remember calling my son "Hey, the bank just gave me a 30 year fixed (3.5%) mortgage. Suckers!!"

 

[Cut-Throat]

Perhaps the real question is why would someone want to spend more. Is it because they are not happy with the way things are, is it to just spend out of boredom, is it because "you can't take it with you". If you are happy, why spend more?

It's really just Human Nature..... Monks convince themselves that they are happy with almost nothing... I don't want to be a Monk.


Am I happy with a SmashBurger, Yes ..... Would I enjoy a Filet Mignon more, Yes...

 

[RobbieB]

Perhaps the real question is why would someone want to spend more. Is it because they are not happy with the way things are, is it to just spend out of boredom, is it because "you can't take it with you". If you are happy, why spend more?

Wagyu beef is better than prime and lobster shipped direct from Maine is better than grocery store lobster. XO cognac is better than VSOP which is better than VS. A room with a Jacuzzi is better than one without and first class is better than coach.

 

[gooddog]

Wagyu beef is better than prime and lobster shipped direct from Maine is better than grocery store lobster. XO cognac is better than VSOP which is better than VS. A room with a Jacuzzi is better than one without and first class is better than coach.

Like you, I can always find reason to spend more on things I would like - just a matter of whether it is worth it or not. Everyone is different in this regard.

 

[audreyh1]

Perhaps the real question is why would someone want to spend more. Is it because they are not happy with the way things are, is it to just spend out of boredom, is it because "you can't take it with you". If you are happy, why spend more?

If you have more income than you are spending, why not try to figure out how to put the extra to good use?

 

[JeKa]

You hit the key point when you said value. Many here including myself can spend a lot more than we do. LBYM is a habit that is hard to break. For me its all about value. Case in point. I am going on a trip soon and I know the places I want to visit. I found that I can buy passes ahead of time that is 22% off what I can purchase on the spot. Why would I want to pay 22% more at the door when I get more value for my $$ purchasing ahead? Of course if I didn't know about the pass I would just purchase it at the door and be just as happy. I looked at upgrading the seats for the 11 hr flight and couldn't bring myself to purchase the upgrade. All within my budget. I couldn't quantify the value. My guess is I will feel different when I arrive. That frugality monkey is hard to get off your back.

Value is what one perceives. I have a feeling, however, that after that 11 hr flight you will have wished you had purchased the upgrade.

 

[RobbieB]

Like you, I can always find reason to spend more on things I would like - just a matter of whether it is worth it or not. Everyone is different in this regard.

This is true. It's worth it to me and I've got the dough to blow so I do. Always looking for new ways to Blow More Dough!

 

[gooddog]

If you have more income than you are spending, why not try to figure out how to put the extra to good use?

What is a "good use"?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

What is a "good use"?

Here is one person's solution. A Buddhist Canadian poker player just won $600K and is donating all the money to charity. “Being a practitioner of Buddhism, we sit around and meditate a lot - and that's free," he told the BBC.

 

[gooddog]

Here is one person's solution. A Buddhist Canadian poker player just won $600K and is donating all the money to charity. “Being a practitioner of Buddhism, we sit around and meditate a lot - and that's free," he told the BBC.

That will buy a lot of young grasshoppers.

 

[JDARNELL]

Value is what one perceives. I have a feeling, however, that after that 11 hr flight you will have wished you had purchased the upgrade.

The flight was not bad. I did spend the next day at a bathhouse and ate wagyu beef. Oh man I know how I am gonna spend more money. Now that’s value!

 

[Nick12]

Value is what one perceives. I have a feeling, however, that after that 11 hr flight you will have wished you had purchased the upgrade.

Melatonin knocks me out. 11 hour flight doesn't matter to me since I am catching some Zzzzzz...... No reason to upgrade. I rather save the cash and invest back in market.

 

[Mulligan]

I was talking to a friend yesterday and he said one of his buddies drills holes in pennies and uses them for washers. It seems washers are 4 cents each at homedepot and he is able to save 75% doing it this way. A little to much for me.

Too funny...That is an example of destroying money....to save money.

 

[ychuck46]

Do you enjoy your life? If you like eating out, do you already do so frequently? If you like to travel, do you travel often enough? If you like driving a nice car, do you drive a nice car?

My point is that spending more than you are comfortable with, whether you can afford it or not, is not being unfrugal, just like the opposite is not being frugal. We have a life we enjoy quite a bit. Could we spend more and have it not be an issue? Sure. But when all is said and done if the worst that can happen is we leave a good inheritance for our only child, I am cool with that.

 

[Mulligan]

Like you, I can always find reason to spend more on things I would like - just a matter of whether it is worth it or not. Everyone is different in this regard.

That sums it up... My GF got mad at me at a restaurant one time because I ordered a hamburger instead of a steak saying I was being cheap. I will eat steak but generally find hamburgers more tasty. I finally told her if it made her happy to tell the waiter to charge me for price of a steak while I eat the burger.
I blew $750 on a 1970s pinball machine this summer. Thought it was worth it until it malfunctioned. And that was when I found out “Pinball Doctors” arent around, so I then thought purchase was wasteful. But internet saved me, and I fixed it myself so now it was worth it again.
Next wasteful expenditure this year...An 80 inch tv.

 

[Music Lover]

I was talking to a friend yesterday and he said one of his buddies drills holes in pennies and uses them for washers. It seems washers are 4 cents each at homedepot and he is able to save 75% doing it this way. A little to much for me.

I would do that in a pinch when I couldn't find a washer and consider myself clever. But I'd never do it on a regular basis because the time invested would put a value on my time at less than $1 an hour.

 

[misshathaway]

I think your estimate of people only living until age 81 is low. I think most people should count on living until 90, more or less. Of course, no one knows.I just read an article about an ex CEO of a hospital a few counties down who died at 64 at his retirement party.

I meant 20 healthy, able-to-do-things, years. My parents lived to mid-80's but the last years for both of them held big declines in energy and health.

 

[Nick12]

If you go to the food court at major malls there are usually employees handing out free samples of food. You can fill up on that as a meal. A retired couple I heard of would travel to visit family and find a major hospital and eat in the cafeteria. Healthy filling food at attractive prices. The bagel places in New Jersey right before closing at the end of the afternoon slash the prices to get rid of the bagels. Still fresh. Go to Golden Corral buffet or a Las Vegas casino hotel Buffett between breakfast and lunch. Pay breakfast price upfront and stick around and eat the lunch selections too. When visiting a major city study and use public transportation instead of uber.

 

[pc95]

I was discussing this with a retired friend recently. I am only semi-retired, he is fully retired. It took him several years to get over the frugality. They have no kids, so the need to save for the kids isn't there, but it took him a while to note that there was really no reason to keep his bank account going up, that the reason he had saved for so many years was to be able to retire and have fun. I suspect the same for me, I need to feel comfortable that my savings are doing what I calculated prior to being comfortable to spend on a larger purchase.
My sister and her husband still live very frugally, but have 2 kids and therefore have the goal to ensure they get as much as possible.
So, it really depends on why you are frugal. Do you enjoy living that way? Is it for your kids?
I think shopping around is smart, not frugal. Living without heat to save money but could afford it? Frugal.
My $.02

Shopping around is both smart and frugal. "Frugal" by one definition is "sparing with money or food". Living without heat may be borderline miserly unless one enjoys feeling cold and/or doesn't mind it, and the same goes for cooling, but indeed some cannot afford heat or worse yet food, or are homeless. I can't recall how, either read or heard rumored, that in Japan the ratio of Japanese homeless by choice is much higher than by necessity compared to the United States. Some see excess money as a means to spend, while others see the security and backstop it provides above its agency. This comes down to orientations of thinking.

 

[Out of Steam]

My wife retired recently, while I'm planning a late 2019 retirement. She has become frugal quite quickly in the past year, since we need to finish paying off a car early and put some money in the bank on my single income this year.

 

[pc95]

I'm still cautious about my withdrawal rate although, within that, I have no problem booking Business Class flights on long-hauls. I do have silly frugalities on the small stuff- I've never gone over the first tier of data usage on my Ting plan because it would add another $7 to my monthly bill! My phone is almost 5 years old. I just bought MS Office rather than get a monthly subscription. I rarely buy clothes because I've got plenty that are in good condition, look good and still fit. I could go on.

I'm convinced I can afford the big splurges because I'm careful on the day-to-day things.

365 Office is an example of getting taken to the cleaners.

 

[gcgang]

Here is one person's solution. A Buddhist Canadian poker player just won $600K and is donating all the money to charity. “Being a practitioner of Buddhism, we sit around and meditate a lot - and that's free," he told the BBC.

The Bettin' Tibetan? I heard about this. Usually the winners tip the dealers. This guy didn't. So the dealer approached him. The Bettin Tibetan said, "oh no, there's no money for you. But on your deathbed, you'll receive total consciousness." So he's got that going for him.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

The Bettin' Tibetan? I heard about this. Usually the winners tip the dealers. This guy didn't. So the dealer approached him. The Bettin Tibetan said, "oh no, there's no money for you. But on your deathbed, you'll receive total consciousness." So he's got that going for him.

That is an interesting story. Do you have a link for that? I did a search and could not find anything related. The BBC article said he donates his winnings to several Buddhist charities, as well as Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Do you enjoy your life? If you like eating out, do you already do so frequently? If you like to travel, do you travel often enough? If you like driving a nice car, do you drive a nice car?

My point is that spending more than you are comfortable with, whether you can afford it or not, is not being unfrugal, just like the opposite is not being frugal. We have a life we enjoy quite a bit. Could we spend more and have it not be an issue? Sure. But when all is said and done if the worst that can happen is we leave a good inheritance for our only child, I am cool with that.

Spending more just for the sake of spending is also not good for the planet. The variables that most predict carbon footprint are “per capita living space, energy used for household appliances, meat consumption, car use, and vacation travel.” And wealthy people — even those who self-identify as green — consume more and do more of all those things.

 

[SecondCor521]

That is an interesting story. Do you have a link for that? I did a search and could not find anything related. The BBC article said he donates his winnings to several Buddhist charities, as well as Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders.

It's an allusion to the movie Caddyshack: